The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the full rollout of a new case management system for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims is expected to be completed in 2029.
Senior DWP officials told a cross-party group of MPs that work on the system remains on schedule, although technical problems are still being identified during the early stages of testing. The update was provided during a Work and Pensions Committee evidence session on November 4, looking at the DWP's Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26.
Officials confirm timetable
Labour MP Rushanara Ali asked DWP Director General for Services and Fraud Neil Couling when the Department expected to complete the rollout of its PIP case management system. Mr Couling replied: "I think we have said 2029 for full case management, which is the completion of the health transformation project."
When asked whether the programme remained on track, he confirmed that it did, but stressed that the Department was deliberately introducing the technology gradually. He told MPs: "We are on track, but in response to an earlier question, I talked about doing things small first. We are at that small, learning stage. We are uncovering bugs in the code - we are uncovering things. It is good that we are at that small stage and so can correct the individual cases quickly. When I am confident that we can let the floodgates open, we will scale up."
The timetable means the full case management system is not expected to be in place until 2029, although the Department is already testing changes before wider implementation.
Processing times and targets
The hearing also examined how long people are waiting for decisions on new PIP claims. Ms Ali highlighted that 82.2 per cent of new claims had been processed within the Department's timeliness measure during 2025/26, compared with 62.4 per cent the previous year. However, the measure had changed from 75 days to 120 days, making the two results difficult to compare directly.
Mr Couling confirmed that he had introduced the change after taking responsibility for the service in April 2025. He told MPs that the previous target risked encouraging staff to concentrate on cases that could be completed quickly while leaving more complicated applications unresolved. The Department had instead introduced a 90 per cent target across several major benefits, including PIP, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Carer's Allowance.
Mr Couling said the assessment process accounted for a substantial proportion of the time needed to process claims, particularly when applicants required additional flexibility. He also acknowledged that previous pressure to meet performance targets had contributed to claims being closed inappropriately.
Vulnerable claimants and next steps
Ms Ali pressed officials for reassurance that longer processing times would not disadvantage vulnerable people who urgently needed financial support. Mr Couling said: "Vulnerable people will need more time. That is what we have allowed for in the target, to try to get the right culture in the Department. Other cases do go quicker than that." He added that the DWP was increasing assessment capacity to help manage the volume of applications.
The PIP case management overhaul is part of the Department's wider health transformation programme. It is separate from the ongoing review of PIP policy and eligibility. In Scotland, PIP has been replaced by Adult Disability Payment for new and existing claimants, with Social Security Scotland responsible for administering and delivering the devolved benefit, not DWP.
